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Universit»A)f  California. 


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D  R  ."FRANCIS     L  I  E  1 1  K  K  , 
Profe^or  j-jrffbtory  and  Law  in  Columbia  College,  New  York. 


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BURGEON'S  FAST-DAY  SERMON. 


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SPURGEON'S  FAST-DAY  SERMON. 


FAST-DAY   SERVICE, 


HELD   AT   THE 


Crystal   lalau,  jSghnJam, 


ON  WEDNESDAY,  OCTOBER  7th,  1867. 


BY 

THE  KEY.  C.  H.  SPUKGEON. 
I) 


BEING   THE    DAY    APPOINTED    BY    PROCLAMATION    FOR   A   SOLEMN    FAST, 

HUMILIATION,    AND    PRAYER    BEFORE    ALMIGHTY    GOD:     IN    ORDER 

TO    OBTAIN    PARDON    OF   OCR    SINS,   AND    FOR    IMPLORING    HIS 

BLESSING    AND    ASSISTANCE    ON    OUR    ARMS    FOR   THE 

RESTORATION    OF    TRANQUILLITY    IN    INDIA. 


NEW    YOKK: 

SHELDON,   BLAKEMAN    &    COMPANY. 

BOSTON:    GOULD    &    LINCOLN. 

CHICAGO  I    S.    C.    GRIGGS    &    CO. 

1857. 


^X£  333 


W.  H.  Tw*on,  Stereotyper.  Podnet  A  Rumkll,  Priuteifc 


§rief  Iitkra&n 


O  God,  the  God  of  heaven  and  of  earth,  we  do 
this  day  pay  Thee  reverence,  and  meekly  bow  our 
heads  in  adoration  before  Thine  awful  throne.  We 
are  the  creatures  of  Thine  hand  ;  thou  hast  made 
ns,  and  not  we  ourselves.  It  is  but  just  and  right 
that  we  should  pay  unto  Thee  our  adoration.  O 
God  !  we  are  met  together  in  a  vast  congregation 
for  a  purpose  which  demands  all  the  power  of  piety, 
and  all  the  strength  of  prayer.  Send  down  Thy 
Spirit  upon  Thy  servant,  that  he,  whilst  trembling 
in  weakness,  may  be  made  strong  to  preach  Thy 
Word,  to  lead  forth  this  people  in  holy  prayer,  and 
to  help  them  in  that  humiliation  for  which  this  day 
is  set  apart.  Come,  O  God,  we  beseech  Thee ; 
bow  our  hearts  before  Thee ;  instead  of  sackcloth 
and  ashes  give  us  true  repentance,  and  hearts 
meekly  reverent ;  instead  of  the  outward  guise,  to 
which  some  pay  their  only  homage,  give  us  the  in- 
ward spirit ;  and  may  we  really  pray,  really  humi- 
liate ourselves,  and  really  tremble  before  the  Most 
High  God.  Sanctify  this  service  ;  make  it  useful 
unto  us  and  honourable  to  Thyself.  And  O  Thou 
dread  Supreme,  unto  Thee  shall  be  the  glory  and 
honour,  world  without  end.     Amen. 


8 


Let  us  now  praise  God  by  singing  the  first 
Hymn.  I  shall  read  it  through  ;  and  then,  perhaps, 
you  will  be  kind  enough  to  sing  it  through. 

Before  Jehovah's  awful  throne, 
Ye  nations  bow  with  sacred  joy ; 
Know  that  the  Lord  is  God  alone ; 
He  can  create  and  he  destroy. 

His  sovereign  power,  without  our  aid, 
Made  us  of  clay  and  form'd  us  men ; 
And  when  like  wand'ring  sheep,  we  stray'd, 
He  brought  us  to  his  fold  again. 

We  are  his  people,  we  his  care, 
Our  souls  and  all  our  mortal  frame ; 
What  lasting  honours  shall  we  rear, 
Almighty  Maker,  to  thy  name  ? 

We'll  crowd  thy  gates  with  thankful  songs, 
High  as  the  heav'ns  our  voices  raise ; 
And  earth  with  her  ten  thousand  tongues, 
Shall  fill  thy  courts  with  sounding  praise. 

Wide  as  the  world  is  thy  command ; 
Vast  as  eternity  thy  love ; 
Firm  as  a  rock  thy  truth  must  stand, 
When  rolling  years  shall  cease  to  move. 


CONTENTS 


PAGE 

Brief  Invocation 7 

Hymn 8 

Exposition *. 9 

Prayer 16 

Sermon 21 

Chorus 43 

Number  Present 43 

Amount  Realized 43 


(Btymtmi 

Daniel  ix.  v.  1 — 19. 

u  In  the  first  year  of  Darius  the  Son  of  Ahasue- 
rus,  of  the  seed  of  the  Medes,  which  was  made  king 
over  the  realm  of  the  Chaldeans ; 

"  In  the  first  year  of  his  reign  I  Daniel  under- 
stood by  books  the  number  of  the  years,  whereof  the 
word  of  the  lord  came  to  Jeremiah  the  prophet, 
that  he  would  accomplish  seventy  years  in  the  deso- 
lations of  Jerusalem. 

"And  I  set  my  face  unto  the  lord  God,  to  seek 
by  prayer  and  supplications,  with  fasting,  and 
sackcloth,  and  ashes : 

"And  I  prayed  unto  the  lord  my  God,  and 
made  my  confession,  and  said,  O  lord,  the  great 
and  dreadful  God,  keeping  the  covenant  and  mercy 
to  them  that  love  him,  and  to  them  that  keep  his 
commandments : 

1*  9 


10 


"  We  have  sinned,  and  have  committed  iniquity, 
and  have  done  wickedly,  and  have  rebelled,  even  by 
departing  from  thy  precepts  and  from  thy  judg- 
ments : 

"Neither  have  we  hearkened  unto  thy  servants 
the  prophets,  which  spake  in  thy  name  to  our  kings, 
our  princes,  and  our  fathers,  and  to  all  the  people 
of  the  land, 

"  0  Lord,  righteousness  belong eth  unto  thee,  but 
unto  us  confusion  of  faces,  as  at  this  day  /  to  the 
men  of  Judah,  and  to  the  inhabitants  of  Jerusalem, 
and  unto  all  Israel,  that  are  near,  and  that  are  far 
off,  through  all  the  countries  whither  thou  hast 
driven  them,  because  of  their  trespass  that  they 
have  trespassed  against  thee. 

"  0  Lord,  to  us  belongeth  confusion  of  face,  to 
our  kings,  to  our  princes,  and  to  our  fathers,  be- 
cause we  have  sinned  against  thee." 

"  To  the  Lord  our  God  belong  mercies  and  for- 
givenesses, though  we  have  rebelled  against  him." 

There  is  the  first  bright  star  which  shines  in  the 
midst  of  the  darkness  of  our  sins.     God  is  merciful. 


11 


He  is  just — as  just  as  if  lie  were  not  merciful.  He 
is  merciful — as  merciful  as  if  lie  were  not  just,  and 
in  very  deed  more  merciful  than  if  he  were  too 
lenient ;  instead  of  blending  a  wise  severity  of  jus- 
tice with  a  gracious  clemency  of  long-suffering. 
My  brethren,  we  should  rejoice  that  we  have  not 
this  day  to  address  the  gods  of  the  heathens.  You 
have  not  to-day  to  bow  down  before  the  thunder- 
ing Jove ;  you  need  not  come  before  implac- 
able deities,  who  delight  in  the  blood  of  their 
creatures,  or  rather,  of  the  creatures  whom  it  is 
pretended  that  they  have  made.  Our  God  de- 
lights in  mercy,  and  in  the  deliverance  of  Britain 
from  its  ills.  God  will  be  as  much  pleased  as 
Britain ;  yea,  when  Britain  shall  have  forgotten 
it,  and  only  the  page  of  history  shall  record  his 
mercies,  God  will  still  remember  what  he  did  for 
us  in  this  day  of  our  straits  and  our  difficulties. 
As  to  the  hope  that  he  will  help  us,  it  is  a  cer- 
tainty. There  is  no  fear  that  when  we  unite  in 
prayer  God  will  refuse  to  hear.  It  is  as  sure  as 
that  there  is  a  God,  that  God  will  hear  us  ;  and  if 
we  ask  him  aright,  the  day  shall  come  when  the 
world  shall  see  what  Britain's  God  has  done,  and 
how  he  has  heard  her  cry,  and  answered  the  voice 
of  her  supplications. 


12 


"  Neither  have  we  obeyed  the  voice  of  the  Lord 
our  God,  to  walk  in  his  laws,  which  he  set  before 
us  by  his  servants  the  prophets. 

"  Tea,  all  Israel  have  transgressed  thy  law,  even 
by  departing,  that  they  might  not  obey  thy  voice  / 
therefore  the  curse  is  poured  upon  us,  and  the  oath 
that  is  written  in  the  law  of  Moses  the  servant  of 
God,  because  we  have  sinned  against  him. 

"  And  he  hath  confirmed  his  words,  which  he 
spake  against  us,  and  against  our  judges  that 
judged  us,  by  bringing  upon  us  a  great  evil  /  for 
under  the  whole  heaven  hath  not  been  done  as  hath 
been  done  upon  Jerusalem. 

"  As  it  is  written  in  the  law  of  Moses,  all  this 
evil  is  come  upon  us:  yet  made  we  not  our  prayer 
before  the  Lord  our  God,  that  we  might  turn  from 
our  iniquities,  and  understand  thy  truth. 

"  Therefore  hath  the  Lord  watched  upon  the  evil, 
and  brought  it  upon  us  :  for  the  Lord  our  God  is 
righteous  in  all  his  works  which  he  doeth  :  for  we 
obeyed  not  his  voice. 

"  And  now,  0  Lord  our  God,  that  hast  brought 


13 


thy  people  forth  out  of  the  land  of  Egypt  with  a 
mighty  hand,  and  hast  gotten  thee  renown,  as  at 
this  day  /  we  have  sinned,  we  have  done  wicked- 
ly." 

The  prophet  in  his  prayer  pleads  what  God  has 
done  for  them,  as  the  reason  why  he  should  niake 
bare  his  arm  ;  he  tells  how  God  delivered  Israel 
out  of  Egypt ;  and  he  therefore  prays  that  God 
would  deliver  them  from  their  present  trouble. 
And,  my  brethren,  not  Israel  itself  could  boast  a 
nobler  history  than  we,  measuring  it  by  God's 
bounties.  We  have  not  yet  forgotten  an  armada 
scattered  before  the  breath  of  heaven,  scattered 
upon  the  angry  deep  as  a  trophy  of  what  God  can 
do  to  protect  his  favoured  isle."  We  have  not  yet 
forgotten  a  fifth  of  November,  wherein  God  dis- 
covered-divers plots  that  were  formed  against  our 
religion  and  our  commonwealth.  We  have  not  yet 
lost  the  old  men,  whose  tales  of  even  the  vic- 
tories in  war  are  still  a  frequent  story.  We 
remember  how  God  swept  before  our  armies  the 
man  who  thought  to  make  the  world  his  dominion, 
who  designed  to  cast  his  shoe  over  Britain,  and 
make  it  a  dependency  of  his  kingdom.  God 
wrought  for  us ;  he  wrought  with  us  ;  and  he  will 
continue  to  do  so.     He  hath  not  left  his  people, 


14  spurgeon's  fast-day  sermon. 

and  he  will  not  leave  us,  but  he  will  be  with  us 
even  to  the  end.  Cradle  of  liberty  !  Refuge  of 
distress !  Storms  may  rage  around  thee,  but  not 
upon  thee,  nor  shall  all  the  wrath  and  fury  of  men 
destroy  thee,  for  God  hath  pitched  his  tabernacle 
in  thy  midst,  and  his  saints  are  the  salt  in  the 
midst  of  thee. 

"  O  Lord,  according  to  all  thy  righteousness,  I 
beseech  thee,  let  thine  anger  and  thy  fury  be  turned 
away  from  thy  city  Jerusalem,  thy  holy  mountain  : 
because  for  our  sins,  and  for  the  iniquities  of  our 
fathers,  Jerusalem  and  thy  people  are  become  a 
reproach  to  all  that  are  about  us. 

"  Now,  therefore,  O  our  God,  hear  tJie  prayer  of 
thy  servant,  and  his  supplications,  and  cause  thy 
face  to  shine  upon  thy  sanctuary  that  is  desolate, 
for  the  Lord's  sake. 

"  0  my  God,  incline  thine  ear,  and  hear  ;  open 
thine  eyes,  and  behold  our  desolations,  and  the  city 
which  is  called  by  thy  name :  for  we  do  not  present 
our  supplications  before  thee  for  our  righteousness, 
but  for  thy  great  mercies. 

"  0  Lord,  hear ;    0  Lord,  forgive;    O  Lord, 


15 


hearken  and  do  /  defer  nvt,  for  thine  own  sake,  O 
my  God :  for  thy  city  and  thy  people  are  called  by 
thy  name" 

And  now  for  a  few  moments  let  us  endeavour  to 
pray. 


Jrap. 


"  Our  Father,  which  art  in  heaven,"  we  will  be 
brief,  but  we  will  be  earnest  if  thou  wilt  help  us. 
We  have  a  case  to  spread  before  Thee  this  day.  "We 
will  tell  out  our  story,  and  we  will  pray  that  Thou 
wouldst  forgive  the  weakness  of  the  words  in  which 
it  bhall  be  delivered,  and  hear  us  for  Jesus'  sake. 
O  Father,  Thou  hast  smitten  this  our  land,  not  in 
itself,  but  in  one  of  its  dependencies.  Thou  hast 
allowed  a  mutinous  spirit  to  break  out  in  our 
armies,  and  thou  hast  suffered  men  who  know  not 
Thee,  who  fear  neither  God  nor  man,  to  do  deeds 
for  which  earth  may  well  blush,  and  for  which  we, 
as  men,  desire  to  cover  our  faces  before  Thee.  O 
Lord  God,  Thou  couldst  not  bear  the  sin  of  Sodom  ; 
we  are  sure  Thou  canst  not  endure  the  sin  which 
has  been  committed  in  India.  Thou  didst  rain  hell 
out  of  heaven  upon  the  cities  of  the  plain.  The 
cities  of  Inde  are  not  less  vile  than  they,  for  they 
have  committed  lust  and  cruelty,  and  have  much 
sinned  against  the  Lord.  Remember  this,  O  God 
of  Heaven. 


17 


But,  O  Lord  our  God,  we  are  not  here  to  be  the 
accusers  of  our  fellow-men  ;  we  are  here  to  pray  that 
Thou  wouldst  remove  the  scourge  which  this  great 
wickedness  has  brought  upon  us.  Look  down  from  - 
heaven,  O  God,  and  behold  this  day  the  slaughtered 
thousands  of  our  countrymen.  Behold  the  wives, 
the  daughters  of  Britain,  violated,  defiled  !•  Behold 
her  sons,  cut  in  pieces,  and  tormented  in  a  manner 
which  earth  hath  not  beheld  before.  O  God,  free 
us,  we  beseech  Thee,  from  this  awful  scourge  ! 
Give  strength  to  our  soldiers  to  execute  upon  the 
criminals  the  sentence  which  justice  dictates;  and 
then,  by  Thy  strong  arm,  and  by  Thy  terrible 
might,  do  thou  prevent  a  repetition  of  so  fearful  an 
outrage. 

We  pray  Thee,  remember  this  day  the  widow 
and  the  fatherless  children ;  think  Thou  of  those 
who  are  this  day  distressed  even  to  the  uttermost. 
Guide  the  hearts  of  this  great  multitude,  that  they 
may  liberally  give,  and  this  day  bestow  of  their 
substance  to  their  poor  destitute  brethren.  Re- 
member especially  our  soldiers,  now  fighting  in 
that  land.  God  shield  them !  Be  thou"  a  covert 
from  the  heat !  Wilt  thou  be  pleased  to  mitigate 
all  the  rigours  of  the  climate  for  them  !  Lead  them 
on  to  battle  ;  cheer  their  hearts  ;  bid  them  remember 
that  they  are  not  warriors  merely,  but  executioners  ; 


18 


and  may  they  go  with  steady  tramp  to  the  battle, 
believing  that  God  wills  it  that  they  should  utterly 
destroy  the  enemy,  w*ho  have  not  only  defied 
Britain,  but  thus  defiled  themselves  amongst  men. 
But,  O  Lord,  it  is  ours  this  day  to  humble  our- 
selves before  Thee.  We  are  a  sinful  nation ;  we 
confess  the  sins  of  our  governors  and  our  own  par- 
ticular iniquities.  For  all  our  rebellions  and  trans- 
gressions, O  God  have  mercy  upon  us  !  We  plead 
the  blood  of  Jesus.  Help  every  one  of  us  to  repent 
of  sin,  to  fly  to  Christ  for  refuge,  and  grant  that 
each  of  us  may  thus  hide  ourselves  in  the  rock,  till 
the  calamity  be  overpassed,  knowing  that  God  will 
not  desert  them  that  put  their  trust  in  Jesus.  Thy 
servant  is  overwhelmed  this  day ;  his  heart  is 
melted  like  wax  in  the  midst  of  him  ;  he  knoweth  not 
how  to  pray.  Yet,  Lord,  if  thou  canst  hear  a  groan- 
ing heart  which  cannot  utter  itself  in  words,  thou 
nearest  his  strong  impassioned  cry,  in  which  the 
people  join.  Lord,  save  us  !  Lord,  arise  and  bless 
us  ;  and  let  the  might  of  Thine  arm  and  the  majesty 
of  thy  strength,  be  now  revealed  in  the  midst 
of  this  land,  and  throughout  those  countries  which 
are  in  our  dominion.  God  save  the  Queen !  A 
thousand  blessings  on  her  much-loved  head  !  God 
preserve  our  country  !  May  every  movement  that 
promotest  liberty  and  progress  be  accelerated,  and 


19 


may  everything  be  done  in  our  midst  which  can 
shield  us  from  the  discontent  of  the  masses,  and  can 
protect  the  masses  from  the  oppression  of  the  few. 
Bless  England,  O  our  God,  "  Shine  mighty  God,  on 
Britain  shine  ;  and  make  her  still  glorious  Britain  ! 
"beautiful  for  situation,  the  joy  of  the  whole 
earth."  Lord  accept  our  confessions;  hear  our 
prayers,  and  answer  us  by  thy  Holy  Spirit.  Help 
thy  servant  to  preach  to  us  ;  and  all  the  glory  shall 
be  unto  thee,  O  Father,  to  thee,  O  Son,  and  thee, 
O  Holy  Spirit ;  world  without  end.  Amen  and 
Amen. 


20 


Let  us  now  sing  the  second  hymn.  It  is  made 
up  of  verses  selected  from  different  psalms,  which 
I  thought  to  be  appropriate  to  the  occasion. 

Our  God,  our  help  in  ages  past, 

Our  hope  for  years  to  come, 
Our  shelter  from  the  stormy  blast, 

And  our  eternal  home. 

Under  the  shadow  of  thy  throne, 
Thy  saints  have  dwelt  secure ; 

Sufficient  is  thine  arm  alone, 
And  our  defence  is  sure. 

Our  foes  insult  us,  but  our  hope 

In  thy  compassion  lies ; 
This  thought  shall  bear  our  spirits  up. 

That  God  will  not  despise. 

In  vain  the  sons  of  Satan  boast 

Of  armies  in  array  ; 
When  God  has  first  despised  their  host, 

They  fall  an  easy  prey. 

Our  God,  our  help  in  ages  past, 

Our  hope  for  years  to  come, 
Be  thou  our  guard  while  troubles  last, 

And  our  eternal  home. 

Hoping  to  receive  help  from  God's  Holy  Spirit, 
I  shall  now  proceed  to  address  you  from  a  part  of 
the  9th  verse  of  the  6th  chapter  of  Micah. 


urafftt. 

"Hear  ye  the  rod,  and  who  hath  appointed  it." — Micah,  vi.  9. 

This  world  is  not  the  place  of  punishment  for  sin  ; 
not  the  place ;  it  may  sometimes  be  a  piace,  but 
not  usually.  It  is  very  customary  among  religious 
people,  to  talk  of  every  accident  which  happens  to 
men  in' the  indulgence  of  sin,  as  if  it  were  a  judg- 
ment. The  upsetting  of  a  boat  upon  a  river  "on 
a  Sunday  is  assuredly  understood  to  be  a  judg- 
ment for  the  sin  of  Sabbath-breaking.  In  the 
accidental  fall  of  a  house,  in  which  persons  were 
engaged  in  any  unlawful  occupation,  the  inference 
is  at  once  drawn  that  the  house  fell  because  they 
were  wicked.  Now,  however  some  religionists 
may  hope  to  impress  the  people  by  such  childish 
stories  as  those,  I,  for  one,  forswear  them  all.  I 
believe  what  my  Master  says  is  true,  when  he  de- 
clared, concerning  the  men  upon  whom  the  tower 

of  Siloam  fell,  that  they  were  not  sinners  above  all 

21 


22 


the  sinners  that  were  upon  the  face  of  the  earth. 
They  were  sinners ;  there  is  no  doubt  about  it ;  but 
the  falling  of  the  wall  was  not  occasioned  by  their 
sin,  nor  was  their  premature  death  the  consequence 
of  their  excessive  wickedness.  Let  me,  however, 
guard  this  declaration,  for  there  are  many  who 
carry  this  doctrine  to  an  extreme.  Because  God 
does  not  usually  visit  each  particular  offence  in  this 
life  upon  the  transgressor,  men  are  apt  to  deny  alto- 
gether the  doctrine  of  judgments.  But  here  they 
are  mistaken.  I  feel  persuaded  that  there  are  such 
things  as  national  judgments,  national  chastise- 
ments for  national  sins — great  blows  from  the  rod 
of  God,  which  every  wise  man  must  acknowledge 
to  be,  either  a  punishment  of  sin  committed,  or  a 
monition  to  warn  us  to  a  sense  of  the  consequences 
of  sins,  leading  us  by  God's  grace  to  humiliate  our- 
selves, and  repent  of  our  sin. 

O,  my  friends,  what  a  rod  is  that  which  has  just 
fallen  upon  our  country !  My  poor  words  will  fall 
infinitely  short  of  the  fearful  tale  of  misery  and 
woe  which  must  be  told  before  you  can  know  how 
smartly  God  hath  smitten,  and  how  sternly  he  hath 
chidden  us.     We  have  to-day  to  mourn  over  re 


23 


volted  subjects,  for  to- day  a  part  of  our  fellow- 
countrymen  are  in  open  arms  against  our  govern- 
ment. That,  of  itself,  were  a  heavy  blow.  Hap- 
pily the  government  of  this  land  is  so  constituted 
that  we  know  little  of  the  revolutions  except  by 
name  ;  but  the  horrors  of  anarchy,  the  terrors  of  a 
government  shaken  to  its  foundations,  are  so  great, 
that  should  I  preach  alone  upon  that  subject,  you 
might  hear  the  rod,  and  cry  aloud  beneath  its 
strokes.  But  this  is  as  but  the  letting  forth  of  wa- 
ter. A  flood  succeedeth.  The  men  that  have  re- 
volted were  our  subjects,  and  I  challenge  all  the 
world  to  deny  what  I  am  about  to  say  :  they  were 
our  subjects  rightly.  Whatever  the  inhabitants  of 
India  might  be  (and  undoubtedly  that  people  have 
grave  faults  to  find  with  us),  the  Sepoys  had  volun- 
tarily given  themselves  up  to  our  dominion,  they 
had  themselves  taken  oaths  of  fealty  to  Her  Majes- 
ty, and  their  officers,  and  they  have  no  cause  to 
murmur  if  they  are  made  to  endure  the  sentence 
uttered  by  a  government  of  which  they  were  the 
sworn  and  willing  supporters.  They  were  always 
petted,  always  dandled  upon  the  knee  of  favoritism. 
Their  revolt  is  not  the  revolt  of  a  nation.     If  India 


24  spuegeon's  fast-day  sermon. 

had  revolted,  history  might  perhaps  have  taught 
us  that  she  had  patriots  in  her  midst,  who  were  de- 
livering her  from  a  tyrannical  nation  ;  but  in  the 
present  case  it  is  only  men  who  are  impelled  by  a 
lust  and  ambition  for  empire,  who  have  risen  against 
us.  And,  ah  !  my  friends,  what  crimes  have  they 
committed!  Not  to-day  shall  I  detail  their  acts 
of  debauchery,  bloodshed,  and  worse  than  bestial- 
ity— this  tongue  will  not  venture  to  utter  what  they 
have  dared  to  do.  Ye  would  rise  from  your  seats 
and  hiss  me  from  the  pulpit  which  I  now  occupy, 
if  I  should  but  dare  to  hint  at  the  crimes  which 
have  been  done  of  them,  not  in  secret,  but  in  the 
very  streets  of  their  cities. 

And,  again,  equally  as  painful,  we  have  now 
rebels  to  be  executed.  I  look  upon  every  gallows 
as  a  fearful  chastisement.  I  regard  every  gibbet 
as  being  a  dreadful  visitation  upon  our  land  ;  and  I 
think  that  whenever  the  arm  of  the  ruler  is  out- 
stretched for  the  punishment  of  death,  it  must 
always  be  looked  upon  by  the  country  as  a  serious 
affliction  to  it.  Just  as  the  father  thinks  it  a  high 
affliction  to  chastise  his  child,  so  should  a  country 
ever  esteem  it  to  be  a  visitation  when  they  have  to 


25 


punish,  especially  with  the  punishment  of  death. 
ISTow,  these  men  must  be  punished  ;  both  heaven 
and  earth  demand  it.  I  am  no  soldier,  I  love  not 
war ;  I  do  not  believe  that  this  is  a  war  at  all,  in 
the  proper  sense  of  the  term.  We  are  not  fighting 
with  enemies ;  our  troops  are  going  forth  against 
revolted  subjects — against  men  who,  by  their 
crimes,  by  their  murder,  and  by  other  unmention- 
able sins,  have  incurred  the  punishment  of  death  ; 
and  as  the  arrest  of  a  murderer  by  authority  of  the 
law  is  not  war,  so  the  arrest  of  Indian  Sepoys,  and 
their  utter  destruction,  is  not  war — it  is  what  earth 
demands,  and  what  I  believe  God  sanctions.  But 
it  is  a  horrible  necessity.  It  is  a  dreadful  thing  to 
think  of  taking  away  the  lives  of  our  fellow-sub- 
jects ;  we  must  look  upon  it  as  being  an  affliction  : 
and,  to-day,  amongst  the  other  evils  that  we  be- 
moan, we  must  bemoan  this — that  the  sword  must 
be  taken  out  of  its  sheath,  to  cut  off  our  fellow  sub- 
jects by  their  thousands.  The  rod,  the  rod,  the 
rod  hath  indeed  fallen  heavily  ;  no  mortal  tongue 
can  tell  the  anguish  it  hath  caused,  nor  perhaps  can 
we  yet  dream  where  its  ill  effects  shall  end. 

Remember,  however,  the  words  of  my  text.     It 


26 


is  a  rod  ;  but  it  is  an  appointed  rod.  Every  deed 
that  has  been  done  against  us  has  been  appointed 
by  God.  God  is  most  fully  to  be  cleared  from  the 
sin  of  it,  but  it  is  undoubtedly  true  that  he  has 
overruled  and  permitted  it.  The  rod  was  ordained 
of  God.  I  myself  see  God  everywhere.  I  believe 
that  "  the  foreknown  station  of  a  rush  by  the  river 
is  as  fixed  as  the  station  of  a  king,  and  the  chaff 
from  the  hand  of  the  winnower  as  steered  as  the 
stars  in  their  courses."  And  I  see  God  in  this  war. 
The  wheels  of  providence  may  revolve  in  a  mys- 
terious manner,  but  I  am  certain  that  wisdom  is 
the  axle  upon  which  they  revolve,  so  that  at  last  it- 
shall  be  seen  that  God,  who  ordained  the  rod, 
only  permitted  it  that  greater  good  might  follow, 
and  that  his  name  might  be  exalted  through  the 
earth.  The  sin  is  man's- own  deed,  but  the  affliction 
that  we  suffer  through  it,  God  hath  ordained.  Let 
us  bow  before  it,  and  let  us  now  hearken  to  the 
exhortation  of  the  text — u  Hear  ye  the  rod,  and 
him  that  hath  appointed  it." 

I  shall  have  your  attention  whilst  as  briefly  as  I 
can  I  endeavour  to  bid  you  hear  this  rod  of  God. 

First,  let  me  remark,  it  would  have  been  as  well 


2f 


if  we  had  heard  this  rod  before  it  fell  upon  us. 
God's  rod,  by  the  wise  man,  may  be  heard  before 
it  smiteth.  He  that  understandeth  God's  moral 
government,  knows  that  sin  carries  punishment  in 
its  bowels.  A  wise  man  believing  revelation,  could 
have  prophesied  that  God  would  visit  us.  The  sins 
of  the  government  of  India  have  been  black  and 
deep.  He  who  has  heard  the  shrieks  of  tormented 
natives,  who  has  heard  the  well-provoked  cursing 
of  dethroned  princes,  might  have  prophesied  that 
it  would  not  be  long  before  God  would  unsheath 
his  sword  to  avenge  the  oppressed.  With  regard 
to  India  itself,  I  am  no  apologist  for  our  dominion 
there ;  with  regard  to  the  Sepoys,  they  are  our 
voluntary  subjects,  they  deserve  the  utmost  rigour 
of  the  law.  From  their  own  oath  they  were  our 
subjects  ;  and  if  they  have  revolted,  let  them  suffer 
the  punishment  of  their  treason.  But  had  it  been 
the  Indian  nation  that  had  revolted,  I  would  have 
prayed  God  that  they  might  have  been  brought 
under  British  rule  again,  for  the  sake  of  civiliza- 
tion, but  I  would  not  have  preached  a  crusade 
against  them,  lest  haply  we  should  have  been  smit- 
ing patriots  who  were  but  delivering  an  oppressed 


28 


spurgeon's  fast-day  sermon. 


country.  My  brethren,  I  say  it  would  have  been 
as  well  if  the  rod  had  been  heard  before  it  fell.  If 
in  the  midst  of  sin  the  Indian  government  had 
paused,  and  endeavoured  to  undo  the  evil,  it  would 
have  been  well  for  them — if  instead  of  following 
the  policy  of  creed  they  had  followed  the  policy  of 
right,  they  might  have  looked  for  divine  support. 
They  never  ought  to  have  tolerated  the  religion  of 
the  Hindoos  at  all.  I  believe  myself  (for  it  in  no 
way  infringes  the  law  of  right)  entitled  to  my  re- 
ligion ;  but  if  my  religion  consisted  in  bestiality, 
infanticide,  and  murder,  I  should  have  no  right  to 
my  religion,  unless  I  were  prepared  to  be  hanged 
for  it.  Now,  the  religion  of  the  Hindoos  is  neither 
more  nor  less  than  a  mass  of  the  rankest  filth  that 
ever  imagination  could  have  conceived.  The  gods 
they  worship  are  not  entitled  to  the  least  atom  of 
respect.  Had  they  given  a  decent  character  to 
their  demons,  we  might  have  tolerated  their  idola- 
try ;  but  when  their  worship  necessitates  everything 
that  is  evil,  not  religion,  but  morality  must  put  it 
down.  I  do  not  believe  that  in  this  land  there  ever 
ought  to  have  been  any  toleration  for  the  Agape- 
mone.     A  place  of  lust  and  abomination,  where  sin 


29 


is  committed  before  which  God's  sun  might  blush, 
never  ought  to  be  tolerated.  Any  religion  that 
does  not  infringe  upon  morality  is  beyond  the  force 
of  legislature.  But  when  once  religious  teachers 
teach  immorality,  and  when  once  a  religion  com- 
pels men  to  sin,  down  with  it ;  no  toleration  to  it. 
It  is  impossible  that  there  should  be  any  quarter 
shown  to  vice,  even  though  embellished  with  the 
name  of  religion.  If  it  be  any  man's  religion  to 
blow  my  brains  out,  1  shall  not  tolerate  it.  If  it  be 
any  man's  religion  to  meet  me,  as  the  Thugs  do, 
and  garotte  me,  and  murder  me,  I  shall  not  toler- 
ate his  Thugism.  If  it  be  a  man's  religion  to  com- 
mit bestial  acts  in  public,  I  for  one  would  touch  his 
conscience,  but  believing  that  he  has  none,  I  would 
touch  him  somewhere  else.  Such  a  religion  as  the 
religion  of  the  Hindoo,  the  Indian  Government 
were  bound,  as  in  the  sight  of  God,  to  put  down 
with  all  the  strength  of  their  hand.  But  they  have 
allowed  it,  in  some  cases  they  have  even  aided  and 
abetted  their  filthy  deeds ;  and  now  God  visits 
them ;  and,  I  repeat,  it  would  have  been  well  if 
they  had  heard  the  rod  before  it  fell ;  they  might 
have  perhaps  avoided  all  this  evil,  and  certainly 


30  sptjegeon's  fast-day  sermon. 

they  would  have  avoided  the  remorse  which  some 
of  them  must  feel  in  having  thus  brought  it  upon 
themselves. 

But  it  has  fallen.  The  rod  has  smitten;  the 
scourge  has  ploughed  deep  furrows  upon  India's 
back.  What  then  ?  "  Hear  ye  the  rod  "  that  has 
fallen.  Now,  it  is  an  opinion  published  by 
authority — and  who  am  I,  that  I  should  dispute  the 
great  authorities  of  England? — that  one  part  of 
the  reason  for  this  dreadful  visitation,  is  the  sin  of 
the  people  of  England  themselves.  We  are 
exhorted  this  day  to  humble  ourselves  for  sin. 
Granting  me  that  as  being  a  truth — and  mark,  I 
am  not  the  originator  of  it ;  it  is  in  the  Proclama- 
tion— who  am  I,  that  I  should  dispute  such  a  high 
authority  as  that  ? — it  is  our  sin  that  has  brought  it 
on  us,  so  they  say — what,  then,  are  our  sins  ? 
Now,  I  will  be  honest  with  you — as  honest  as  I 
can,  and  I  will  try  and  tell  you.  What  are  the 
most  glaring  sins  for  which,  if  it  be  true  that  God 
is  now  punishing  us,  are  the  most  likely  to  have 
brought  this  visitation  upon  us  ? 

First,  there  are  sins  in  the  community  that  never 
ought  to  have  been  allowed.     O  Britain,  weep  for 


31 


the  deeds  which  thy  governors  have  not  yet 
strength  of  mind  to  stop.  We  have  long  been 
allowing  the  infamons  nuisances  of  Holy  well- 
street  ;  bless  God  they  are  pretty  well  done  for ! 
But  now  what  do  I  see  every  night  ?  If  I  return 
from  preaching  in  the  country,  in  the  Hay  market 
and  in  Regent-street,  what  stares  me  before  my 
eyes?  If  there  be  a  crime  for  which  God  will 
visit  England,  it  is  the  sin  of  allowing  infamy  to 
walk  before  our  eyes  thus  publicly.  I  do  not 
know  whose  fault  it  is — some  say  it  is  the  fault  of 
the  police :  it  is  somebody's  fault,  that  I  do  know, 
and  against  that  somebody  I  do  now  most  solemnly 
protest.  It  is  a  most  fearful  thing  that  those  who 
are  honest  and  moral  cannot  walk  the  streets, 
without  being  insulted  by  sin  in  the  robes  of  the 
harlot.  My  voice  perhaps  this  day  may  reach 
some  who  have  power  to  repeat  this  protest  power- 
fully and  successfully.  I  see  before  me  gentlemen 
who  are  the  representatives  of  the  press.  I  believe 
they  will  do  their  duty  in  that  matter ;  and  if  they 
will  sting  as  some  of  them  can  sting,  right  sharply, 
they  perhaps  may  be  able  to  sting  a  little  virtue 
into  some  of  our  governors,  and  that  will  be  a 


32 


good  thing.  But  I  do  protest  that  this  has  been 
one  of  the  causes  why  God  has  visited  us,  if 
indeed  our  sins  have  brought  this  evil  upon  us,  as  1 
verity  believe.  Look  ye  too,  men  and  brethren,  at 
some  of  those  amusements  of  yours,  in  which  ye 
are  wont  to  indulge.  God  forbid  I  should  deny 
you  those  of  your  amusements  which  are  innocent, 
but  I  must  maintain  that  they  should  be  always 
moral ;  when  we  know  that  lords  and  ladies  of  the 
land,  have  sat  in  plav  houses,  and  listened  to  plays 
that  were  a  long  way  from  decent,  it  is  time  that 
some  voice  should  be  lifted  up  against  them. 
These  are  glaring  sins.  I  am  not  raking  now  for 
private  faults;  we  have  had  these  things  before 
our  eyes,  and  there  have  been  some  that  have 
dared  to  protest  against  them  long  ago.  I  say, 
these  sins  of  the  community,  in  part  have  brought 
the  rod  upon  us. 

But,  my  friends,  I  am  inclined  to  think  that  our 
class  sins  are  the  most  grievous.  Behold  this  day 
the  sins  of  the  rich.  How  are  the  poor  oppressed  I 
How  are  the  needy  down-trodden !  In  many  a 
place  the  average  wage  of  men  is  far  below  their 
value  to  their  masters.     In  this  age  there  is  many 


33 


a  great  man  who  looks  upon  his  fellows  as  only 
stepping-stones  to  wealth.  He  builds  a  factory  as 
he  would  make  a  cauldron.  He  is  about  to  make 
a  brew  for  his  own  wealth.  "  Pitch  him  in  !  He 
is  only  a  poor  clerk,  he  can  live  on  a  hundred  a 
year.  Put  him  in  !  There  is  a  poor  time-keeper : 
he  has  a  large  family ;  it  does  not  matter ;  a  man 
can  be  had  for  less :  in  with  him  !  Here  are  the 
tens,  the  hundreds,  and  the  thousands  that  must  do 
the  work.  Put  them  in :  heap  the  fire  ;  boil  the 
cauldron  ;  stir  them  up ;  never  mind  their  cries. 
The  hire  of  the  labourers  kept  back  may  go  up  to 
heaven :  it  does  not  matter,  the  millions  of  gold 
are  safe.  The  law  of  demand  and  supply  is  with 
us — who  is  he  that  would  interfere  ?  Who  shall 
dare  to  prevent  the  grinding  of  the  faces  of  the 
poor  ?  Cotton-lords  and  great  masters  ought  to 
have  power  to  do  what  they  like  with  the  people : 
ought  they  not  ?"  Ah  !  but  ye  great  men  of  the 
earth,  there  is  a  God,  and  that  God  has  said  he 
executeth  righteousness  and  judgment  for  all  that 
are  oppressed.  And  yet  the  sempstress  in  her  gar- 
ret, and  yet  the  tailor  in  his  den,  and  yet  the  arti- 
zan  in  his  crowded  factory,  and  yet  the  servants 


34 


who  earn  jour  wealth,  who  have  to  groan  under 
your  oppression,  shall  get  the  ear  of  God,  and  he 
will  visit  you.  "  Hear  ye  the  rod."  It  is  for  this 
the  rod  falleth  on  you. 

Mark,  again,  the  sins  of  merchants.  Was  there 
ever  an  age  when  the  merchants  of  England  had 
more  fallen  from  their  integrity?  The  mass  of 
them,  I  believe,  are  honest  to  the  core ;  but  I  do 
not  know  who  among  them  are  so.  "We  can  trust 
none  in  these  times.  Ye  heap  up  your  companies, 
and  ye  delude  your  myriads ;  ye  gather  the  money 
of  fools ;  ye  scatter  it  to  the  winds  of  heaven,  and 
when  the  poor  call  upon  you  ye  tell  them  it  is 
gone:  but  where?  O  England,  thou  wast  once 
true,  upright,  honest ;  men  could  not  rightly  call 
thee  then  "  Perfidious  Albion ;"  but  now,  O  Bri- 
tain, alas !  for  thee !  Unless  thou  dost  recover 
thyself,  who  can  trust  thee  ?  God  will  visit  the 
nation  for  this,  and  it  shall  be  seen  that  this  alone 
is  one  of  the  things  which  God  would  have  us 
hear,  when  we  hear  the  rod. 

There  are  many  of  you  that  are  poor.  I  saw 
you  smile  when  I  spoke  to  the  rich.  I  will  have  at 
you  also.     If  we  are  to  humble  ourselves  this  day 


35 


as  a  nation,  ye  have  cause  also  to  humble.  Ah, 
my  God,  what  multitudes  there  are  of  men  who 
deserve  but  little  of  their  employers,  for  they  are 
eye-servers,  men-pleasers,  and  do  not  with  single- 
ness of  heart  serve  the  Lord.  Were  men  better 
workmen,  their  masters  would  be  better.  There 
are  hundreds  of  you  that  are  here  to-day  who  are 
the  best  hands  in  all  the  world  to  prop  up  walls,  when 
you  ought  to  be  busy  at  your  own  work — who 
when  your  time  is  bought  and  paid  for,  steal  it  for 
something  else.  And  how  many  there  are  in  what 
are  called  the  lower  ranks — and,  God  forgive  the 
man  that  invented  that  word,  for  we  are  none  of 
us  lower  than  the  other  before  the  Judge  of  all  the 
earth — how  many  are  there  that  do  not  know  what 
it  is  to  look  up  to  God,  and  say,  "  Though  he  has 
made  me  a  servant,  I  will  discharge  my  duty,  and 
I  will  serve  my  master  and  serve  my  God  with  all 
my  might."  Many  are  the  sins  of  the  poor.  Hum- 
ble yourselves  with  the  rich ;  bow  your  heads  and 
weep  for  your  iniquities  ;  for  these  things  God 
doth  visit*  us,  and  ye  should  hear  the  rod. 

It  is  impossible  for  me  to-day  to  enter  into  all 
the  sin's  of  illiberality,  of  deceit,  of  bigotry,  of  las- 


36  SPUKGEON'S   FAST-DAY   SEEMOK. 

civiousness,  of  carnality,  of  pride,  of  covetousness, 
and  of  laziness  which  infest  this  land.  I  have  tried 
to  indicate  some  of  the  chief;  and  I  pray  God  hum- 
ble us  all  for  them. 

And  now  "  hear  ye  the  rod."  O  church  of  God 
the  rod  has  fallen,  and  the  church  ought  to  hear  it. 
I  am  afraid  that  it  is  the  church  that  has  been  the 
greatest  sinner.  Do  I  mean  by  "  the  church"  that 
established  by  law  ?  No,  I  mean  the  Christian 
Church  as  a  body.  We,  I  believe,  have  been  re- 
miss in  our  duty ;  for  many  and  many  a  year  pul- 
pits never  condescended  to  men  of  low  estate.  Our 
ministers  were  great  and  haughty  ;  they  understood 
the  polish  of  rhetoric,  they  had  all  the  grandeur  of 
logic ;  to  the  people  they  were  blind  guides  and 
dumb  dogs,  for  the  people  knew  not  what 
they  said,  neither  did  they  regard  them.  The 
churches  themselves  slumbered  :  they  wrapped 
themselves  in  a  shroud  of  orthodoxy,  and  they 
slept  right  on,  and  whilst  Satan  was  devouring  the 
world,  and  taking  his  prey,  the  church  sat  still,  and 
said  "  Who  is  my  neighbor  ?"  and  did  not  arouse 
herself  to  serve  her  God.  I  do  hope  that  we .  have 
already  seen  the  beginning  of  a  revival.     The  last 


spurgeon's  fast-day  sermon*  37 

year  has  seen  more  preaching  than  any  year  since 
the  days  of  the  apostles.  We  are  stirring  in  Bag- 
ged Schools,  and  in  various  efforts  for  doing  g;ood ; 
but  still  the  church  is  only  half  awake ;  I  fear  she 
still  slumbers.  O  church  of  God  I  awake  I  awake  I 
awake  i  for  verily  the  rod  has  fallen  for  thy  sake. 
**  Hear  thou  the  rod  and  him  that  hath  appointed  it." 
III.  We  have  had  many  rods,  friends  ;  we  have 
had  many  great  afflictions,  and  we  did  bear  them 
for  a  time  ;  and  now  I  close  my  sermon  by  saying, 
"  Hear  ye  the  rod,  when  the  rod  shall  again  be 
still."  We  trust  that  in  a  little  while  our  soldiers 
will  carve  us  out  peace  and  victory  with  their  tri- 
umphant swords;  we  trust  that  perhaps  this  very 
day,  a  great  fight  is  being  fought  and  a  great 
victory  being  **von.  I  seem  to  hear  to-day  the 
shout  of  the  triumphant  warrior ;  I  think  I  hear 
the  trump  of  victory  even  now.  The  hour  of  pray- 
er is  often  the  hour  of  deliverance.  At  any  rate 
we  hope  that  ere  long  this  black  cloud  will  be 
overblown  ;  and  then  I  fear  you  will  all  forget  it. 
you  will  pray  to-day  ;  will  you  pray  when  victory 
comes?  You  will  buy  some  fireworks  will  you 
not  ?    That  is  how  you  thank  God  !     Yon  had  a 


38 


victory  over  a  potent  enemy,  and  peace  was  estab- 
lished :  your  votive  offerings  consisted  of  rockets 
and  illuminations — grand  offerings  to  the  Dread 
Supreme  ?  If  a  heathen  were  here  he  would  say, 
"  Their  God  is  the  God  of  humilation  not  the  God 
of  victory ;  their  God  is  a  God  of  trouble,  certainly 
not  a  God  of  blessings,  for  they  forget  him  when 
they  receive  deliverance."  I  remember,  when 
last  time  the  cholera  swept  through  your  streets  ye 
hurried  to  your  churches,  and  ye  prayed ;  terror 
sat  upon  your  countenances,  and  many  of  you  cried 
aloud  for  deliverance.  It  came.  What  did  you 
do  ?  Alas  !  for  your  piety  !  It  was  as  the  morn- 
ing cloud,  and  as  the  early  dew  it  passed  away.  It 
will  be  so  again.  It  is  but  as  the  lashing  of  the 
water ;  it  is  smitten,  but  it  soon  -recovers  itself 
and  all  marks  are  effaced.  It  is  so  with  this  land ; 
I  fear  it  is  so  with  each  of  us  to  a  degree.  How 
often  have  you  and  I  been  laid  upon  our  beds  with 
cholera,  or  with  fever,  or  with  some  other  disease 
which  threatened  to  take  us  away  !  "Wo  prayed  ; 
we  sent  for  the  minister  ;  we  devoted  ourselves  to 
God  ;  we  vowed,  if  he  would  spare  us,  we  would 
live  better.     Here  thou  art,  my  hearer,  just  what 


39 


thou  wast  before  thy  sickness.  Thou  hast  forgotten 
thy  vow  ;  but  God  hath  not  forgotten  it.  Thy  reso- 
lutions were  filed  in  heaven,  and  in  the  day  of 
judgment,  God  shall  take  them  forth  and  say, 
"  Here  is  one  solemn  covenant  broken  ;  here  is  ano- 
ther vow  forgotten,  another  resolution  made  in  sick- 
ness broken  after  recovery !"  I  do  think  that 
to-day  will  be  a  most  solemn  mockery,  if  our  hu- 
milation  ends  to-day.  With  some  of  you  it  will 
not  even  begin  to  day,  and  therefore  it  will  not 
end,  for  it  is  not  begun.  But  the  mass  who  will 
pray  to-day,  will  they  pray  in  a  week  ?  Not 
they ;  they  will  go  their  way,  to  heap  again  the 
fagots  of  their  sins  upon  the  pile  of  ven- 
geance, and  still  stand  by  and  weep  because  the 
fire  is  burning,  the  fire  which  they  themselves 
have  kindled.  Oh !  my  hearers,  permit  me  to 
charge  home  to  your  heart ;  and  would  God  that 
he  would  make  the  charge  of  my  language  against 
your  consciences  as  heavy  as  the  charge  of  British 
soldiery  against  the  enemy !  How  many  of  you 
have  been  awakened,  convinced  of  sin,  of  righteous- 
ness, and  of  judgment !  How  many  times  have 
you  vowed  you  would  repent !     How  many  times 


40  SPUKGEOn's  FAST-D4lY  sermon. 

have  you  declared  that  you  did  hear  the  rod,  and 
that  you  would  turn  to  God  I  And  yet  you  have 
been  liars  to  the  Almighty;  you  iiave  defrauded 
the  Most  High  ;  and  whilst  the  bill  is  due  it  still 
stands  dishonoured.  Tremble  !  God  may  smite  you 
yet ;  and  if  to-day  you  are  despisers  of  Christ,  re- 
member, you  have  no  guarantee  that  you  will  be  in 
this  world  another  hour.  You  may  before  this  sun 
is  set  stand  before  your  Maker's  bar.  What  then  I 
what  then  ?  what  then  I  To  perish  for  ever  is  no 
light  matter ;  to  be  cast  into  the  flames  of  hell  is 
no  little  consideration.  "Turn  ye,  turn  ye,  turn 
ye ;  why  will  ye  die,  O  house  of  Israel  I"  Kepent  i 
"  The  times  of  your  ignorance  God  winked  at,  but 
now  commandeth  all  men  everywhere  to  repent." 
And  remember  that  when  he  gives  repentance  and 
faith,  he  has  appended  the  blessing  to  them. 
"  Jesus  Christ  of  the  seed  of  David  "  was  nailed  to 
a  cross ;  he  died  that  we  might  not  die,  and  to 
every  believer  heaven's  gate  is  open,  to  every  peni- 
tent the  path  to  paradise  is  free.  Sinner  1  dost 
thou  believe  ?  If  so  Christ  hath  blotted  out  thy  sin. 
Be  happy!  Soul!  dost  thou  repent?  Thou  art 
safe.    God  has  helped  thee  to  repent,  and  inasmuch 


41 


as  he  hath  done  that  he  hath  proved  that  he  loves 
thee. 

Oh  !  if  I  might  but  have  some  souls  won  to 
Christ  to-day,  what  would  I  give  !  What  is  all  this 
great  gathering  to  me?  It  1s  an  extra  labour,  that 
is  all.  For  this  I  do  not  labour.  God  is  my  wit- 
ness, I  sought  you  not ;  never  once  have  I  said  a 
thing  to  court  a  smile  from  any  man.  When  God 
first  sent  me  to  the  ministry  he  bade  me  fear  no 
man,  and  I  have  not  yet  met  the  man  to  whom  I 
have  feared  to  tell  of  God's  truth.  Nor  you  have 
I  sought  to  please,  nor  you  have  I  sought  to  gather 
here.  I  would  preach  the  gospel ;  may  God  give 
me  some  souls  as  my  reward !  And  if  but  one 
poor  sinner  shall  look  to  Jesus,  clap  your  wings,  ye 
angels !  enough  is  done,  for  God  is  honoured. 

I  have  done  my  sermon,  but  I  want  to  make  an 
appeal  to  you  to  give  liberally. 

Lives  there  a  man  in  England  who  will  this  day 
refuse  his  help  to  those  of  his  countrymen  who  have 
suffered  ?  No ;  there  does  not  live  such  a  man — 
not  such  a  Briton.  Is  there  a  miserable  miscreant 
without  a  heart,  who  will,  when  God  has  given  him 
enough,  shut  up  his  bowels  of  compassion  against 


42 


those  whose  sons  and  daughters  have  been  mur- 
dered, and  who  themselves  have  escaped  as  by 
the  skin  of  their  teeth.  No  I  will  not  slander  you 
by  such  a  supposition.  I  cannot  think  that  I  have 
such  a  monster  here.*  When  the  box  shall  pass 
round,  give — give  as  you  can  afford  ;  if  it  be  a  pen- 
ny, let  the  working  man  give.  You  that  are  rich 
must  not  give  pence,  however.  Many  a  man  has 
said,  "  There  is  my  mite."  He  was  worth  a  hun- 
dred thousand  pounds,  and  it  was  not  a  mite  at  all ; 
if  he  had  given  a  thousand  it  would  only  have  been 
a  mite  to  him.  Give  as  ye  can  afford  it ;  may  God 
be  pleased  to  grant  a  liberal  spirit ! 


spurgeon's  fast-day  sermon.  43 

The  following  Chorus  was  then  sung — 

Glory,  honour,  praise,  and  power, 

Be  unto  the  Lamb  for  ever ; 
Jesus  Christ  is  our  Redeemer^ 
Hallelujah,  Amen. 

After  which,  the  benediction  having  been  pro- 
nounced, the  service  terminated. 


There  were  upwards  of  24,000  persons  present  at  this  ser- 
vice ;  and  the  amount  collected  towards  the  Indian  Relief 
Fund  amounted  to  nearly  $2,500,  of  which  $100  was  given 
by  Miss  Nightingale.  The  Crystal  Palace  Company  contri- 
buted $1,000  in  addition — making  a  total  of  nearly  $3,500. 

"  Co  Oft  k  all  %  fcg." 


Books  Published  by  Sheldon,  Blakeman   &  Co. 
THE    SAINT   AND   HIS    SAVIOUR. 

BY    THE    EEV.    C.    H.    SPURGEON. 
1  vol.,  12mo.     Price  $1. 
This  is  an  entirely  new  work,  never  before  published  in  any  form.     It  is  the  first  ex- 
tended religious  work  by  this  distinguished  preacher,  and  one  which  in  its  fervid  devo- 
tional spirit",  the  richness  of  its  sentiments,  and  the  beauty  of  its  imagery,  fully  sustains 
his  high  reputation. 

SERMONS 

OF    THE    REV.    C.    H.    SPURGEON,  OF   LONDON. 

FIRST  SERIES.  With  an  Introduction  and  Sketch  of  his  Life,  by  the  Rev.  E.  L. 
Magoon,  D.D.    1  vol.,  12mo,  400  pages.    With  a  fine  Lithograph  Portrait.     Price  $1. 

SECOND  SERIES.  Revised  by  the  Author,  and  Published  with  his  sanction ;  contain- 
ing a  new  Steel  Plate  Portrait,  engraved  expressly  for  the  Volume.    Price  $1. 

THIRD  SERIES.  Revised  by  the  Author,  and  Published  with  his  sanction  ;  contain- 
ing a  Steel  Plate  View  of  Surrey  Music  Hall,  London,  engraved  expressly  for  the 
Volume.    Price  $1. 

AN  ILLUSTRATED  SKETCH  OF  THE 

LIFE  AND  MINISTRY   OF   THE  EEV.  C.  H.  SPURGEON. 

Compiled  from  original  and  authentic  documents,  with  numerous  Anecdotes  and  Inci- 
dents of  Travel;  and  Illustrated  with  a  Portrait  of  Mr.  Spurgeon,  engravings  of  New 
Park-street  Chapel,  Waterbeach  Chapel,  Mr.  Spurgeon  in  his  Pulpit,  his  Birth-place, 
etc. ;  with  an  Outline  of  his  Articles  of  Faith. 
1  vol.,  12mo.    Muslin.    Price  60  cents.—!  vol.,  12mo.    Paper  Covers.     Price  40  cents. 
From  the  Rev.  E.  Q.  Robinson,  D.D.,  Professor  of  Biblical  and  Pastoral  Theology 
in  Rochester  University. 
"Messrs.  Sheldon,  Blakeman  &  Co.— Gentlemen  :  Many  thanks  for  your  new  vol- 
ume of  Spurgeon's  Sermons.     I  opened  it  with  a  good  deal  of  misgiving,  but  must  con- 
fess to  a  most  agreeable  surprise.     It  is  an  extremely  rare  thing  that  the  sermons  of  a 
popular  preacher  will  bear  reading  ;  but  these  of  Spurgeon  are  not  only  better  arranged 
and  more  logical  than  I  had  expected,  but  with  soundness  of  doctrine,  are  also  written  in 
true  Bunyan-like  simplicity,  directness,  and  beauty.     I  am  not  surprised  at  his  popular- 
ity, and  am  only  glad  it  is  so  well  founded.     I  shall  recommend  them  to  the  attention  of 
my  class,  and  shall  take  up  one  or  two  of  them  for  analysis,  as  a  special  exercise. — 
Respectfully  yours,  E.  G.  ROBINSON." 

From  Francis  Wayland,  D.D. 

"  Providence,  December  15, 1S56. 
"  Gentlemen  :  When  I  wrote  to  you  last  I  was  reading  Spurgeon's  Sermons.  I  have 
now  finished  them;  and  I  thank  God  that  such  a  preacher  has  been  raised  up  to  teach  us 
how  to  address  men  on  the  subject  of  their  salvation.  I  am  surprised  at  their  eloquence, 
but  especially  at  the  source  of  it.  They  are  the  result  of  a  most  thorough  reading  of  the 
New  Testament  by  a  man  of  very  remarkable  gifts  as-a  public  speaker.  '  They  are  the 
Bimple  truths  of  the  New  Testament  brought  home  to  the  consciences  of  men  with  a 
simplicity,  honesty,  fearlessness,  and  affection,  such  as  I  have  rarely,  if  ever,  witnessed. — 
Yours,  truly,  F.  WAYLAND." 

From  the  Rev.  S.  trenazus  Prime,  D.D. 

"  Observer  Office,  New  York,  February  23, 1857. 
"Messrs.  Sheldon,  Blakeman  &  Co.:  I  am  indebted  to  you  for  the  pleasure  oi 
reading  several  of  the  sermons  you  propose  to  publish  of  the  Rev.  Mr.  Spurgeon.  They 
are  far  more  able,  interesting,  and  instructive,  freer  from  coarseness  and  extravagance,  and 
more  evangelical  and  scriptural  than  I  had  supposed,  from  the  notices  1  had  read  of  his 
preaching:.  These  sermons  have  the  root  of  the  matter  in  them,  while  their  fervid  style, 
earnest  appeal,  and  vivid  illustration,  arrest  the  attention  and  impress  the  truth.  The  Rev. 
Dr.  Campbell,  of  London,  is  the  editor  of  the  British  Banner.  He  is  the  valiant  opponent 
of  the  'Negative  Theology' now  infesting  the  dissenting  churches  of  England.  In  his  paper 
he  says  of  Mr.  Spurgeon :  '  That  young  minister  has  more  knowledge  of  the  sacred  Scrip- 
tures, the  source  of  all  genuine  theology,  than  the  whole  of  his  traducers  multiplied  by  the 
highest  figure  of  the  table.  Nay,  he  is  a  better  theologian  than  was  either  Grimshaw,  or 
Berridge,  or  Whitefield,  or  Wesley,  at  the  outset  of  their  respective  careers,  and  inferior  to 
none  of  them  at  the  close.'  I  shall  be  pleased  to  commend  the  volume  to  the  public  when 
you  bring  it  out— Truly,  yours,  S.  I.  PRIME." 

Either  of  the  above  sent  by  Mail,  Postage  paid,  for  the  Price  annexed. 


Books  Published  by  Sheldon,  Blakeman  Sf  Co. 

The  Publishers  invite  Attention  to  the  following  recommendation*  «l 

MRS.     CONANT'S 

ENGLISH     BIBLE. 


From  the  New  York  Evangelist 

"Tot  story  is  one  of  deepest  import,  involving  acts  of  heroism  and  daring,  not  leal 
than  of  scholarship  and  piety,  and  so  identified  with  the  history  of  freedom,  civilizatioa 
and  literature,  as  to  partake  of  the  spirit  of  all  these  unspeakable  interests." 

From  the  Christian  Times,  Chicago. 
■  It  is  full  of  matter ;  its  style  is  graphic  and  pure,  its  spirit  excellent" 

From  the  New  York  Examiner. 

w  There  was  room  for  such  a  work  as  Mrs.  Cox  a  nt  has  undertaken,  and  the  Volume 
the  has  given  us  will  be  generally  welcomed,  as  supplying  the  deficiency." 
"  The  work  is  one  we  should  be  glad  to  see  in  every  Christian  family." 

From  the  Louisville  Journal. 

m  The  work  is  not  only  an  admirable  sketch  of  the  early  English  versions  and  revisions 
of  the  Bible,  but  a  most  skilful  and  forcible  presentation  of  the  very  essence  of  the 
religious  History  of  the  English  race.  Many  portions  are  executed  with  wonderful 
effect 

44  The  Chapter  on  the  Martyrdom  of  Frith,  is  among  the  most  thrilling  and  nowerful 
pieces  of  historical  painting  extant 

u  A  more  comprehensive  and  gratifying  record  of  the  religious  progress  of  the  AJiglo- 
Baxon  race,  has  never  before  been  given  or  attempted." 

From  the  New  York  Tribune. 

MIn  closing  this  article,  for  the  materials  of  which  we  are  Indebted  to  the  volume  before 
us,  we  must  not  omit  to  give  ottr  humble  tribute  to  the  learning,  historical  research, 
soundness  of  judgment,  and  masculine  energy  of  style,  which  characterize  its  composi- 
tion. The  claims  of  the  author  to  an  enviable  place  in  literature,  which  her  previous 
efforts  have  suggested,  are  unquestionably  made  good  in  the  composition  of  this 
volume." 

From  the  Cambridge  Chronicle. 

"  The  work  shows  on  almost  every  page,  the  evidence  of  learned  investigation,  and  thor- 
ough research. 

"The  style  is  free  from  the  dry  and  harsh  characteristics  which  render  the  volumesoi 
Anderson,  Lewis,  and  other  writers,  so  repulsive  to  all  but  the  antiquary  and  the  pro- 
fessed student  of  history.  ,  • 

44  Mrs.  Conant's  style  is  easy  and  elegant ;  she  seizes  the  strong  points  and  presents  them 
vividly  to  the  reader.    V( »  can  do  no  better  service  to  our  friends  and  readers,  of  all 
i  than  to  advise  them  to  purchwe  this  volume." 


Books  Published  by  Sheldon,  Blakeman  &  Go. 
A  NEW  BAPTIST  HYMN  AND  TUNE-BOOK, 

FOR  THE  ENCOURAGEMENT  OF  CONGREGATIONAL  SINGING  ; 

BEING  THE  PLYMOUTH  COLLECTION  OF  HYMNS  AND  TUNES: 

ENLABGED  AND  ADAPTED  TO  THE  USE  OF  BAPTIST  CHUBCHE8. 

The  grounds  on  which  this  book  has  been  prepared  and  offered  to  the  Baptist  Churches 
may  be  learned  from  the  following  correspondence  addressed  to  the  publishers  of  the 
"  Plymouth  Collection." 

Brookbm,  May  1st,  1857. 

Gents : — The  Pierrepont  Street  Baptist  Church  being  greatly  interested  in  the  improve 
ment  of  Congregational  Singing,  have  had  their  attention  directed  to  the  merit  and  useful 
nessof  the  "  Plymouth  Collection  of  Hymns  and  Tunes"  published  by  you.  Many  of 
us  have  examined  it  carefully,  used  it  in  our  families,  and  observed  its  influence  upon  ths 
singing  in  public  worship,  and  we  are  led  to  believe  that  it  is,  on  the  whole,  better  adapted 
to  promote  Congregational  Singing  than  any  other  book  now  before  the  public,  and  that, 
with  some  alterations  and  additions,  it  might  be  well  adapted  to  the  use  of  Baptist  Churches, 
and  be  made  to  supply  a  want  at  present  extensively  felt  among  us. 

In  this  view,  at  a  meeting  of  the  Church,  held  April  1st,  1857,  the  following  resolutions 
were  passed  unanimously,  and  directed  to  be  communicated  to  you  : — Resolved,  1st.  That 
we  request  of  the  editor  and  publishers  an  edition  of  the  "Plymouth  Collection  of 
Hymns  and  Tunes"  adapted  to  the  use  of  Baptist  Churches.  2d.  And  that  upon  issue 
of  such  an  edition,  that  this  Church  use  the  same  in  their  public  worship. 

Yours  truly,  WILLIAM  F.  FORBY,  Clerk. 

The  editor  and  publishers  of  the  "  Plymouth  Collection"  having  signified  their  will- 
ingness to  accede  to  the  above  request,  Rev.  J.  S.  Holme,  Pastor  of  the  Pierrepont  Street 
Baptist  Church,  Brooklyn,  has,  at  their  request,  and  with  the  advice  and  co-operation  of 
a  large  number  of  the  pastors  of  other  Baptist  Churches,  prepared  for  publication  a  new 
edition  of  the  "  Plymouth  Collection."  All  Hymns  have  been  stricken  out  that  seemed 
not  in  harmony  with  the  views  and  feelings  of  Baptists,  and  a  large  number  have  been 
added,  not  only  of  a  denominational  character,  but  those  old  familiar  hymns,  which,  by 
long  us?,  have  become  much  endeared  to  the  Baptist  Churches.  The  original  plan  of  the 
book  has  been  carried  out  in  restoring  old  standard  hymns,  which  have  been  mutilated  by 
attempted  improvements,  to  their  former  integrity.  A  few  choice  hymns  have  been  adted 
that  have  never  appeared  in  any  collection,  and  a  number  of  original  hymns  on  Baptism 
and  subjects  ia  which  hymnology  appeared  especially  barren — such  as  Home  Missions — 
have  been  obtained  from  very  distinguished  pens.  Especial  acknowledgments  for  orig- 
inal hymns  are  due,  among  others,  to  William  C.  Bbyant.  Esq.,  G.  W.  Bktitcne,  D.D., 
S.  F.  Smith,  D.D.,  S.  D.  Phelps,  D.D.,  Chaeles  Thubheb,  and  Rev.  Sydney  Dyeb. 
This  edition  contains  about  150  hymns  and  50  tunes  more  than  the  original  number  of 
the  "  Plymouth  Collection,"  making  in  all  about  1,600  hymns  and  400  tunes,  which,  it  is 
believed  will  form  the  most  complete  collection  of  the  kind  ever  offered  to  the  public. 

The  Musical  arrangement  for  the  new  matter  of  the  present  edition  has  been  under  the 
control  of  Peofessoe  Robeet  R.  Raymond. 

Among  the  peculiarities  of  this  book,  the  following  may  in  brief  be  specially  noted : 

1.  Its  primary  object  is  to  promote  the  interests  of  Congregational  Singing. 

2.  Every  hymn  is  set  to  appropriate  music.  For  the  most  part,  the  tune  is  on  the  same 
page  with  the  hymn. 

3.  It  abounds  in  old  familiar  tunes,  and  plain  and  easy  melodies,  such  as  congregations 
generally  not  only  can,  but  love  to  sing. 

4.  This  book,  containing  about  1,600  hymns  and  400  tunes,  presents  a  wider  range 
for  adaptation  and  taste  than  any  other  book  ever  presented  to  the  public. 

5.  It  is  especially  rich  in  warm,  soul-stirring  revival  melodies. 

6.  It  is  adapted  equally  to  the  conference  meeting,  the  family  circle,  and  the  great 
congregation ;  so  that  one  book  will  not  only  suffice  for  all  these  places,  but  in  the  use  of 
one  book  all  these  separate  exercises  are  made  to  contribute  to  the  improvement  of  the 
music  of  each,  and  especially  to  that  of  the  more  public  services  of  the  sanctuary. 

7.  The  book  may  be  used  by  churches  in  the  public  service,  either  with  or  without  a 
choir  as  they  may  prefer. 

8.  The  indexes  of  this  book  are  so  full  and  complete  that  it  is  hoped  they  will  mate- 
rially lessen  the  inconvenience  so  generally  felt  by  ministers  in  the  selection  of  suitable 
hymns. 

PRICES  OF  THE  BAPTIST  HYMN  AND  TUNE-BOOK, 
In  Plain  Binding,  $1  50.  Extra  Gilt,  $2  50.  Super  Extra,  $3  50. 

Churches  wishing  them  for  introduction  will  be  supplied  at  a  liberal  discount. 
SHELDON,  BLAKEMAN  &  CO., 

Publishers,  115  Nassau  Street,  N.  Y. 


Books  Published  by  JS/ieldon,  Blakeman  <&  Co. 

LIFE-PICTURES  FROM  A  PASTOR'S  NOTE-BOOK. 

By  Robert  Turnbull,  D.D. 

1  vol.,  12mo.    Price  $1.  * 

•*  The  author's  intention  has  been  to  develop  in  a  natural,  vivid  way,  by  means  of  nar- 
ratives, portraitures  of  characters,  conversations,  letters,  etc.,  the  Divine  or  inner  life. 
The  characters  are  real,  such  as  the  author  has  met  in  his  extended  observation  and  ex- 
perience, among  all  classes  of  persons.  Some  of  them  of"  great  intelligence  and  worth, 
and  others  of  an  inquisitive,  skeptical  turn,  including  studeuts,  lawyers,  merchants,  liter- 
ary characters,  mechanics,  and  others.  Some  of  the  '  Life  Pictures'  are  of  young  men 
reclaimed  from  skepticism.  These  will  be  found  to  possess  a  thrilling  interest.  Some  of 
the  sketches  are  of  characters  remarkable  for  their  gifts  and  graces.  Those  of  William 
Bentley  (.the  baker's  boy),  and  Harvey  Miller,  one  of  the  noblest  men  that  ever  lived,  will 
be  hailed  witli  pleasure  by  all  who  ever  knew  them.  As  it  touches  upon  Harvard  Uni- 
versity, Theodore  Parker,  Cambridge  and  Boston  life,  it  will  be  read,  no  doubt,  with  great 
interest." 

"  With  a  skillful  and  elegant  pen,  with  a  rich  and  entertaining  fund  of  social  and  pas- 
toral reminiscence,  Dr.  Turnbull  teaches  truth  in  the  garb  of  interesting  narrative,  mak- 
ing a  most  useful  book  of  these  sketches.  The  book  is  one  to  be  sought  for  and  circu- 
lated."— Lutheran  Observer. 

"  There  is  probably  not  a  reading,  thinking  young  man  in  town  who  has  not  found  him- 
self overwhelmed  at  times  as,  alone,  he  met  face  to  face  the  great  questions  continually 
coming  toward  him  from  the  cloudy  future.  It  is  all  well  enough  to  tell  men  that  they 
must  have  faith,  that  this,  that,  and  the  other  is  so,  because  the  church  ha6  said  so,  or  for 
the  very  much  better  reason  tliat  the  Bible  says  so.  Whether  a  man  will  or  not,  he  can 
not  subdue  the  everlasting  Why  that  starts  up  at  every  demand  upon  faith  or  reason." — 
Hartford  Evening  Press. 

"  The  style  of  the  several  sketches  is  very  simple  and  spirited,  and  the  lessons  they 
were  designed  to  teach  are  such  as  any  man  would  be  wiser  for  having  learned." — A'eto 
York  Examiner. 

CHILDHOOD  : 

ITS  PROMISE    AND   TRAINING. 
By  W.  W.  Evakts,  D.D. 
1  volume,  12mo.     Price  75  cents. 
From  Louisville  Journal. 
«'As  presenting  more  fully  and  justly  the  claims  and  promise  of  childhood,  and  in  depth 
and  range  of  thought,  this  work  is  far  beyond  any  we  have  yet  seen  upon  the  same  sub- 
ject    To  those  who  are  acquainted  with  his  characteristics  as  a  writer,  the  name  of  the 
author  will  be  a  sufficient  guaranty  for  its  literary  merit     The  style  of  the  c  mpositioa 
is  ori-inal  and  impressive;  bold  and  vigorous  rather  than  elaborate  and  finished;  the  dic- 
tion elegant,  and  the  illustrations  truthful  and  appropriate.     It  is  adapted  to  interest  and 
benefit  the  most  philosophical  philanthropist  and  the  most  humble  parent" 
From  Oenesee  Evangelist. 
"A  valuable  book,  and  very  suggestive.     Admirably  calculated  to  impress  the  import- 
ance of  early  religious  training.     No  Christian  mother  can  read  it  without  profit 
From  Louisville  Courier. 
"  It  is  more  clear  and  comprehensive  in  its  plan,  and  more  original  and  striking  in  its 
Illustration  than  any  volume  we  have  seen  on  this  subject     It  is  designed  and  adapted  to 
be  a  manual  of  early  education.     It  .mbraces  in  order  the  whole  range  of  physical,  intel- 
lectual, moral  and  religious  training." 

THE    SANCTUARY*: 

ITS  CLAIMS  AND  POWER. 

By  W.  W.  Evabto,  D.D. 

1  volume  18mo.     Price  63  eenU. 


THIS  BOOK  IS  DUE  ON  THE  LAST  DATE 
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